Golem, Paizo

The tall, dusty shelves loom high overhead, reaching ever upward to the high-vaulted ceiling and stretching forever away into dusk and shadow. Before the endless walls of yellowed scrolls, leather-bound tomes, and crystal balls of unknowable secrets stands an immense, silent figure. A single, pale light from behind it frames its hulking silhouette. It stalks forward on thundering limbs and the shadow it wears falls away, revealing a smooth, iron-black body, devoid of any features but the two fiery orbs that regard the intruders with a powerful, burning intellect.

As a standard action, the Golem can slam its fists down onto the ground, directing energy into the surface and causing it to ripple outward in all directions for 15 feet. Any creature standing in the area takes 2d12+18 points of damage and must succeed at a DC 38 Reflex save or be knocked prone. In addition, the ground becomes buckled and smashed and is considered difficult terrain. The save DC is Strength-based.

The Golem can charge at a target even through squares occupied by other creatures of Large size or smaller, battering them effortlessly aside. Any creature occupying a square on the path toward the target must make a DC 38 Reflex save or be thrown 1d4x5 feet, suffering 2d8+18 damage and knocked prone. This save DC is Strength-based.

As a full round action, the Golem can capture the knowledge of any creature within 30 feet. When using this ability, the Golem's eyes seem to swell, becoming deep, endless pools. The target must succeed at a DC 29 Will save or become a mindless vegetable for 1d4 rounds, unable to perform any action. During this time, the Golem can use any skill or feat possessed by the victim as if it itself had the skill or feat, adding the victim's skill ranks to its own if it already possesses them. In addition, the victim's BAB, if higher, replaces the Golem's, and the Golem gains all of the victim's spells, able to cast them without their requisite components (if any). Any such spells used by the Golem are considered cast when the victim regains control of his senses. The Golem can only capture the knowledge of one target at a time. Any creature that succeeds at its Will save is immune to this effect for the next 24 hours. This save DC is Charisma-based.

A traveler from beyond the stars, this ageless being came to Earth during a time when vast, steamy jungles and nameless, forgotten terrors crawled across the face of our planet. A caretaker of lore and knowledge of both this world and of others, the Golem has marched across the bones of countless epochs in an endless quest for information, searching always for the unknowable, and questing eternally for the unattainable. His midnight black body appears to be constructed of highly polished iron, though the mysterious black metal is unknown to any Earthbound scientist. Forged by hands long lost to the Universe, the Golem is the last of its kind.

The Golem contains the powerful artifact known as the Heart of Lore, which appears as a radiant ball of pure, crystalline energy that it keeps stored in its broad, powerful chest. This item grants the Golem a +4 deflection bonus to its Armor Class, fast healing 10, and 200 extra hit points.

History

The Golem once slaved for its masters, a long-extinct race of space travelers and explorers who, after eons of existence, catalogued and explored much of our galaxy and even beyond, using a powerful blend of science and magic to reach out to the far corners of existence. To help them acquire and protect all of this collected knowledge, they constructed a potent servitor class, a race of obedient constructs that hungered for knowledge and lore as much as they.

But nothing withstands Time, and eventually the species began to fall into extinction, and their servitors along with them. Until when at last only the Golem remained, the remainder of the species bound their collected knowledge into a powerful artifact—the Heart of Lore—and infused it within the Golem, so that it would be forever the caretaker of their posterity. The Golem then set out into the Universe, exploring countless worlds—Golarion among them—settling for millennia at a time before finally moving on. Earth is but the latest stop on its everlasting voyage.

Habitat & Society

The Golem is driven by an insatiable hunger for knowledge, though it does occasionally stop for prolonged periods, allying itself with scholars and artisans whom it finds worthy, and sharing with them the tales it has accumulated over the course of its incredibly long and storied existence, so that they in turn can share them with others—for it is not only the duty of the Golem to collect knowledge and tales, but to ensure that they are never forgotten. However, the Golem is very particular about with whom it chooses to share its knowledge, and any attempt to acquire its information or possessions without its consent are dealt with most severely.

This stat block for the Paizo Golem was created by editorial internHank Woon in this
blog post. Truly a fearsome opponent!